>THE SURREAL HOUSE

Barbican Gallery - London
3 September 2010

Concert for Anarchy - Rebecca Horn

Dark dead ends and view-less windows, empty corridors and stairs to nowhere, sleeping faces with open eyes and dolls that eat porcelain, cats with fixed smiles and instruments of terror... has to be the Barbican at it's finest!

The Surreal House offers up haunted rooms, delirious forms, blasted architecture and cinematic dreamscapes - featuring a host of artists, architects and film makers including Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, Alberto Giacometti, René Magritte, Man Ray, Joseph Cornell and Maya Deren through to more contemporary figures, among them; Rebecca Horn, Edward Kienholz and Rem Koolhaas.

This twisted temple of surrealism has been dreamt up by acclaimed young architects Carmody Groarke - it wraps around you as the objects become more and more nightmarish, the exploding piano is worth the entry alone. Also, really glad to have stumbled across the incredible 'stop-motion' animation of Jan Svankmajer (See below). Brilliant

Gallery installation

Jaberwocky - Jan Svankmajer

SURRELISTIKA sponsored by IKEA

10 out of 10